Steering device for aeroplanes



Sept. 8, 1931. Q H p v s I 1,822,082

STEERING DEVICE FOR AEROPLANES Filed Nov. 4, 1929 Jwwntov I awn/mmmemasese a. 1931 TES' PATENT oFF1 es s HAROLD G. DAVIS, OF DENVER,COLORADO I s'rEEnme DEvIcE ron AEnorLaNEs Application filed November 4,1929. Serial No. 404,647.

This invention relates to improvements in steering devices foraeropntnes.

Aeroplanes are provided with three controls by .means of which they areguided I while in flight. A horizontal rudder is provided for turningtowards the right, or towards the left, or for horizontal steering.Elevators are provided for upward and downward movement while in flightand 1 ailerons .are provided for the purpose of cult and necessitatesmuch skill on the controlling the transverse inclination of theaeroplane.

It is evident that the operation of the three different control devicesis quite diffipart of the pilot.

The control devices usually employed in aeroplanes comprise two separatecontrol members, one of which is a vertical lever by means of which theailerons and the elevator are controlled and the other is a footoperated control device by means of which the horizontal rudder iscontrolled. The usualcontrol device requires the pilot to employ bothhis hands and his feet and is objectionable for this and several otherreasons which will not be explained.

It has long been recognized that an aero plane pilot. or any oneridingin an aerolane as well as in any other vehicle, will lnvoluntarilyretain his body in a vertical position as this position seems to benaturally assumed due to some inherent faculty with which everyone isendowed.

It is the object. of this invention to produce a steering mechanism foruse with aeroplanes that shall be so constructed that the pilot-does nothave to use his feet in the steering of the aeroplane, but can operateall of the control devices above referred to by means of his handsalone. It is another object of this invention to produce a steeringmechanism that shall be so designed 5 that if the steering post, whichforms part of the mechanism is maintained in a position correspondingwith the natural upright position of the body, the different controlswill be automatically moved in the proper direction and in this manner,a natural and simplified steering apparatus is produced.

wardly.

The improved steering device which forms the subject of this inventionis also so constructed, that turning towards the rightor towards theleft, is effected by means of a corresponding rotation of a steeringwheel that resembles in appearance and function the steering wheel of anautomobile. Automobiles are now so universally used that their operationhas become almost a second nature to most drivers and therefore if thesame result is produced by a similar apparatus in an aeroplane it canreadily be seen that a pilot can more readily learn to oper-' ate anaeroplane than if he had to learn, in addition to the many other things,to control the right and left motion of the aeroplane by means offootoperated pedals as is now necessary.

This invention, briefly described, consists of a casing that is adaptedto be secured to the fuselage of an aeroplane and which is provided witha bottom to which a universal joint is pivoted in such a manner that itcan rotate about a vertical axis. A steering .can be rotated and that itcan also be tilted in any direction with respect to the casing. Two armsare connected with the universal joint and extend outwardly from theaxis of rotation. Cables or other means are connected to the extremitiesof these arms and to the horizontal rudder, so that the latter will bemoved when .the steeringpost and the universal joint are rotated. Meansis connected to the steering apparatus and to the ailerons so that thelatter will be moved when the steering post is tilted transversely.Means is also provided for connecting the steering device with theelevator in such a manner that the latter will be moved when thesteering post is tilted forwardly or rear- The mechanism by means ofwhich motion is transferred from the steering post to the severalcontrol devices, andwhich will hereinafter be described in detail, is soconstructed that each of the control-devices can.

be. operated independently of the others or simultaneously with eachother.

Having thus briefly described the invention the same will now bedescribed in detail, and for this purpose reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings in which the preferred embodiment of the devicehas been illustrated and in which: 7

Fig. l is a top plan View of an aeroplane showing the connections fromthe steering device to the difierent control devices in a general way;

Fig.2 is a section taken on line 2-2, Fig.

1,.and shows one way of making connection parts, one of which is locatedon each side of the horizontal rudder. The plane is also provided withstabilizers 6 and a propeller 7. The steering device which will now bedescribed is so constructed that it can be used in connection with anystandard aeroplane and the parts shown in Fig. 1 are intended merely toassist in the proper description of the mechanism.

The steering device in its preferred form consists of a casin 8 whichmay be round or square-but whie has been illustrated as consisting of asquare box having a bottom 9. This casing can be secured to the body ofthe aeroplane in any suitable way and by any suitable means so as to beheld rigidly in place. Located within the casing is a universal ointconsisting of a lower member 10, having two short upwardly extendingarms 11 between which the cubical metal block 12 is located and to whichthis block is secured by means of pins 13. Member 10 1s pin 14 thatextends through a hearing in the bottom 9 and which is held in place bymeans of a nut 15 or other equivalent means. The pivotal connectionbetween the lower part of the universal joint and the casing which hasjust been described, is merely illustrative of a means for this purpose,and in actual construction this pivotal connection is made in a moresubstantial manner than that shown in the drawings. Member 10 is alsoprovided with two diametrically placed arms 16, whose ends 17 extendupwardly in a vertical direction and terminate in pivot pins 18, towhich the links 19 are provided on its lower side with a pivot.

connected. The other ends of links 19 are connected to bars 20 that areslidable in the bearings 21 in the rear vertical side of the casing, inthe manner shown in Fig. 5. The third part of the universal joint hasbeen indicated by reference numeral 22 and is provided with spaceddownwardly extending arms 23 that are pivotally connected to the cubicalblock .12 by means of pins 24 that are located at right angles to pins13. The member 22 is provided'at its upper end with an opening for thereception of the lower end of the steering post 25, which is heldtherein-by means of a pin 26 or other equivalent means. A sleeve 27 ispreferably provided about the lower end of the steering post which has ashort section of reduced diameter for the reception of this sleeve. Thesteering" post extends upwardly to the height desired and terminates ina steering wheel 28. A movable collar 29 is secured to the steering postand a spring 30 is interposed between this collar and the upper surfaceof'the concavo convex cover 31. The upper end of the casing ispreferably flanged inwardly as indicated by numeral 32 so as to providea flange on which the cover 31 is supported. It is evident from thedescription already given that the steering post 25 can be rotated andthat it can also be tilted in any direction with respect to the casing.Secured to the rear ends of the rods 20 are steel cables 33 that extendrearwardly to the transverse bar 34 which is secured to the horizontalrudder 4. It is therefore obvious that when the steering post isrotated, the horizontal rudder will also be turned so that the planewill move in the direction in which the steering wheel .is rotated. Forthe purpose of controlling the elevator 5, I have provided a yoke member35 which has a slot 36 that extends transversel of the casing andthrough which the sleeve 27 extends in the manner shown in Fig. 4. Rods37 and 38 extend respectively rearwardly and forwardly from the yokemember 35 and are slidably-mounted in bearings 39. It is evident from aninspection of F ig. 4, that if the steering post is tilted towards theright or towards the left, it will not move the yoke member 35 becausethe tilting movement is in the direction of the slot, but if thesteering post is tilted forwardly or rearwardly, yoke member 35 will becorrespondingly moved, because the slot is only slightly larger than thesleeve 27 and therefore must move whenever this sleeve moves in anydirection except in the direction of the slot. It is also evident thatif the steering post is tilted diagonally, the yoke member 35 will begiven a' forward or rearward movement that is a component of thediagonal movement of the steering post. A rod 40 is secured to the rearend of member 37 and extends to the crank arm 41 that Y from theelevator 5.

moved.

' For the purpose of controlling the ailerons 3, I have provided anotheryoke member 35a, which is provided with a slot 36a and with oppositelyextending guide bars 42. The. yoke member 35a is exactly the same insize and shape as yoke member 35, but is located above the latter'andthe arms 42 extend outwardly at right angles to arms 37 and 28. Securedto the outeroends of the arms or bars 42 are cables 43 that extend tothe lower ends of the lever arms 44 on the ailerons 3. These lever armshave portions 45 that extend over the-ailerons and these are connectedby means of a cable46. It is now evident that if the yoke member 35a ismoved, it will tilt the aileronsin opposite directions-and if thesteering, post is maintained in a vertical position, the ailerons willbe moved so as to rectify any trans,

verse rotation of the plane.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a slightly modified means for transmitting powerfrom the steering 'mechanism to the elevator 5. In

Figs. 1 and 2 I showa rod 40 connected to the end of the vertical lever41 but it is evident that by having a single rod this must be rigid andmust be so mounted that it will not buckle when it is put undercompression. If two cables 40a; and 401) are employed, and connected tothe arms 41 and 41a in the manner shown in Fig. 6, the elevator will becontrolled without puttingany member under compression and thereforesteel cables can be employed instead of the rigid bar 40.

If we now hear in' mind that the pilot automatically and involuntarilytends to re tain his body in vertical position, it is evident that ifthe aeroplane tilts towards right or the left, he will automaticallytilt the steering post in the casing whereby the ailerons will be movedso as to produce a force that tends to turn the aeroplane in theopposite direction until it comes back to even keel.

If'the ship tends to nose downwardly into a tailspin, the pilot willinvoluntarily lean back and carry the steering post with him and therebyadjust the position of the elevator so as to neutralize the tendency ofthe aeroplane to move downwardly. The turning to the right and left, ashas already been explained, iseflected by the turning of the steeringpost in a manner analogous to the corresponding steering mechanism of anautomobile.

I am aware that mechanisms having two right angularly placed yokemembers like those indicated by reference characters 35 and 35a havebeen employed in connection been built or provided the I with automaticstabilizers of the a weighed pendulum, devices of which I haveknowledge, no means has been provided for changing the direction oftravel in a horizontal plane, and I have therefore added an essentialelementto the old combination- The horizontal con- .type using but inthe previous trol is of great importance for the reason.

that since it is effected by the same mechanism that controls theailerons and the elevator, the pedal controls can be eliminated and allof the three control devices moved by a single steering element that iscontrolled by the hands of the pilot.

I want it understood that when reference is made to the horizontalrudder member 4 is intended. The designation horizontal rudder is usedbecause this rudder turns theplane to the right or left in a horizontalplane, as distinguished from the elevators 5 that control the up anddown motion. I also want it understood that when reference is made toailerons any equivalent means such as distortable Wings is included. Theterm steering post refers to the control bar or post 25 and is not to beconfused with the steering post of an automobile which is rotatableonly. I

From the above description it will be apparent that this inventionrelates to a device that can be assembled as a separate unit and appliedto aeroplanes that have already as standard equipand that the device itmakes use of the ment with newplanes, is so constructed that naturalinstincts of the pilot for effecting a control of the aeroplane and forthis reason simplifies the steering mechanism to such an extent thatpilots can more quickly and more readily master the control ofaeroplanes and since it is operated in accordance with the naturalinstincts ofthe pilot, he will involuntarily apply to the steeringmechanism the proper force to correct'the conditions prevailing therebyassuring that even'a pilot which may have become temporarily confused,willmove the steering mechanism in the right position to effect thedesired correction.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. A steering mechanism for use with aeroplanes comprising, incombination, a casing having a bottom and sidewalls, a universal jointsecured to the bottom of the casing and mounted for rotation about anaxis that extends upwardly from the bottom, a steering post connectedwiththe casing by means of the universal joint whereby itmay be tiltedin any direction and also rotated with respect to the casing, theuniversal joint having outwardly extending extending outwardly from eachside thereof at right angles to the slot, said rods passing throughholes in opposite sides of the'casing, and a second yoke membersurrounding the steering post with the slot at right angles to that ofthe first whereby the two yoke members may be moved independently orsimultaneously by tilting the steering post.

2. A unitary steering mechanism for aeroplanes comprising, incombination, acasing having a bottom and side walls arranged to form abox, a universal joint having its lower portion secured to the bottomand mounted for rotation about an axis perpendicular to the bottom, asteering post connected to the-upper portion of the universal, two yokemembers each having a central portion provided with an elongated slotand a guide member extending outwardly from each side at right angles tothe slot, the two yoke members being arranged in superposed relationwith their slots at right angles, the guide members extending throughbearings in the sides of the casing, the steering post extending throughthe slots whereby the yoke members can be moved by moving the steeringpost, laterally extending arms secured to the lower portion of theuniversal, and a handle secured to the upper end of the steering post.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

HAROLD G. DAVIS.

